This invention relates to a system for controlling the air flow dampers in the environmental control system of a multi-room building, and more particularly to a system for such control wherein rooms in the same air flow circuit as a room having a thermostat control may temporarily shut flow communication to the rooms selectively.
In multi-room buildings, such as office buildings, it is generally found that a thermostat in one office or room controls the environmental conditions, such as temperature, of other offices within a given zone. For example, a group of offices generally share a given air flow duct circuit, with one office of the group having the only thermostat control. Thus, the person residing in that one office, by setting the thermostat at a temperature comfortable to him or her at a particular time, dictates the temperature of the other offices. Since people have varying metabolism rates it would be unusual for everyone in the same group to desire the same conditions at the same time, and generally a number of people in the group will not be comfortable. If, for example, the controlling person selects the temperature high on a winter morning, a number of the people in the group may be excessively warm. It is not unusual for the controlling person to set the temperature at one setting in the morning and thereafter change the setting as he or she begins to feel uncomfortable with the original setting. Each change in the setting has varying effects on the other people in the group, and may interrupt their work if they periodically shut and open the damper in their office a number of times during the day.
Although separate thermostats may be placed in each office, the cost for such a system would be prohibitive. The same is true to a large extent if thermostatic control of the air dampers in each office were used to open and close the individual dampers. Additionally, although remote damper controls have been proposed wherein the damper in an office may be closed or partially closed by the resident remotely while at his or her desk, it is inconvenient to have to change the damper positions periodically, first to get less air and then to get more air. It is highly desirable to make the change and then go back to work without having to remember to rechange the damper setting later or when it becomes uncomfortable due to too little air flow.